Eurozone's ultimatum to Greece: put up or get out
Referendum brought forward after pressure from France and Germany, while Greeks told that bailout will be withheld until after vote on euro membership
Greece last night agreed to hold an early referendum on the
Eurozone crisis and to make the vote a simple question of whether
Greeks wanted to remain in the euro after France and Germany warned
that it would not receive bailout funds without doing so.
Greeks wanted to remain in the euro after France and Germany warned
that it would not receive bailout funds without doing so.
The Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou, who stunned European capitals by announcing the referendum earlier this week, was placed under intense pressure in emergency talks that carried on late into the night on the eve of the G20 summit in Cannes.
Iran: the damning nuclear evidence
Iran is attempting to engineer and test nuclear weapons at a series of banned production sites in defiance of United Nations sanctions, according to a report to be released next week.
The research by the UN’s watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, will add a substantial layer to seven years of investigations that is likely to inflame tensions in the Middle East.
Yukiya Amano, the organisation’s director-general, is unlikely to draw a definitive conclusion that Iran is making nuclear weapons, but according to Western diplomats the facts will make any other conclusion implausible.
They believe the IAEA has substantiated evidence from intelligence reports, interviews with Iranian scientists and on-the-ground inspections that Iran is carrying out a nuclear weapons programme in parallel to its civilian energy goals.
Somalis brace for Kenyan air assault, some flee
Somalia braced for Kenyan air attacks on Wednesday and Islamist militants stopped civilians from fleeing at least one likely strike zone.
Kenya, which sent troops into lawless Somalia nearly three weeks ago to crush the al Shabaab militant network, said on Tuesday it planned "imminent" air raids on militant bases and warned residents to stay clear of them.
Kenya's warning of air bombardments was prompted by reports the al Qaeda-linked militants had received two consignments of weapons, flown into the rebel-controlled town of Baidoa.
Eritrea dismissed media reports it had delivered the arms cache as "outright lies" meant to dirty its reputation.
Showdown looms between 'Anonymous' hackers and Mexico's Zeta cartel
The hacker group Anonymous has set a weekend deadline for Mexico's Zetas to release one of its kidnapped members, putting the drug cartel in what could prove a highly vulnerable position.
After initial mixed signals, it appears that online hacker collective Anonymous has decided to take on Mexico’s most violent and feared drug cartel, the Zetas, which could put the drug gang in a tight spot.
In just the past few days, rumors of a showdown between Anonymous and the Zetas drug cartel have been the subject of a veritable media frenzy. Speculation about the scope of the confrontation abounds, fueled by several conflicting reports about the “hacktivist” group’s intentions.
The source of the confusion is a YouTube video which was posted on October 6 by one “MrAnonymousguyfawkes,” which shows a masked speaker accusing the Zetas in Veracruz of having kidnapped a member of Anonymous in that state. As retribution, the individual claims that Anonymous will expose Zetas-linked police officers, officials, and journalists unless their associate is released. “You made a great mistake in taking one of us; release him and if something happens to him, you [expletive] will remember the 5th of November.
NYC-sized iceberg being born on Antarctica
18-mile-long crack along unstable ice shelf spotted by NASA scientist
msnbc.com
Scientists on an aerial survey of Antarctica have come across an 18-mile-long break in an ice shelf — a sign that the sensitive area is giving birth to an iceberg that will be larger than New York City.
"We are actually now witnessing how it happens," Michael Studinger, project scientist with NASA's IceBridge survey, said in a statement Wednesday. "It’s part of a natural process but it’s pretty exciting to be here and actually observe it while it happens."
The scientists were aboard a NASA jet on Oct. 14, making measurements of Pine Island Glacier and its ice shelf, when they came across the crack.
Glaciers naturally give birth to icebergs, but scientists are concerned that warming temperatures might be destabilizing those in Antarctica and Greenland by eroding the ice shelves floating on water that hold them back up against the mainland.
Japan Revives a Sea Barrier That Failed to Hold
By NORIMITSU ONISHI
Published: November 2, 2011
KAMAISHI, Japan — After three decades and nearly $1.6 billion, work on Kamaishi’s great tsunami breakwater was completed three years ago. A mile long, 207 feet deep and jutting nearly 20 feet above the water, the quake-resistant structure made it into the Guinness World Records last year and rekindled fading hopes of revival in this rusting former steel town.
But when a giant tsunami hit Japan’s northeast on March 11, the breakwater largely crumpled under the first 30-foot-high wave, leaving Kamaishi defenseless. Waves deflected from the breakwater are also strongly suspected of having contributed to the 60-foot waves that engulfed communities north of it.
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